The Hop Don't Stop: Extended Kangaroo Interviews (Part 1)!

By Mark Frazee | Public Relations and Social Media Coordinator

Last week, we shared Part 1 of our Can’t Stop the Hop Kangaroo video series! The series tells the story of the Kangaroo's return to Kennywood, from the early design stages all the way to reopening. In Part 1, however, we had a lot more to say than the time we had available to say it. So, we thought we’d share some bonus excerpts from those interviews with you!

We’ll start with the Kennywood team, then move to the team at Hampton Creative. I’ll offer some additional comments in italics.

Also - if you haven’t had a chance to watch Part 1: The Design Phase, now's a great time to do so!

Our original plan was to keep Part 1 soley focused on the conceptual elements of the ride, leaving the on-the-ground work to later videos. We figured everyone would probably be interested in the work going on at the park, however, and asked Project Manager Gary Miller for a few words. We're certain this area will look very different by the time Part 2 premieres - in fact, it's already changed since Part 1! Here's a few more insights on the ride's set-up:

“On the back of the games building, we have the conduit for the control booth. That’s where the control panel will be located; it operates the whole ride... There’s a pin in the center [of the site], that shows you were the ride is going to be... Over there [on the far side], you’ll see the excavator. We’re building a retaining wall, so we’re able to bring this site up in elevation.”

You can see that retaining wall in the image above. Of the entire project, Gary said he was most excited to see the ride's massive backdrop. More on this later!

A look at the Kangaroo from when it was new in the 1960s. This served as this inspiration for the ride's new look in 2022, which will feature a massive backdrop just like the one pictured here! The letters that spell "Kangaroo" will be significantly larger.

One area we didn't dive into too much yet is the role of the Kangaroo's return in relation to our larger 125th Celebration and ongoing improvements this off-season. Mark offered a few thoughts:

"We’re just excited about the opportunity to bring the ride back, because it blends well with the overall experience here at the park. We’re going through a major refurbishment, and bringing the Kangaroo back is one of the iconic features we’re really excited about."

More news on other 125th Celebration activities and features coming soon!

HR Director Joe Barron appears only briefly at the very beginning of the video. This little blurb didn't make the final cut, but we think it speaks to the widespread appeal of the Kangaroo very well:

“My buddies and I, we would always like to be in the last car that would come down right at the end - and then it would stop there; we always hoped we would get that! It’s such a simple ride, but it’s such a great ride.”

We asked those we interviewed for their opinion of the ride's winning vintage design. We ultimately decided to split these responses with footage from a video we put together back in November that included Guests during the voting period. Here’s Marketing Director Taylor Bulischeck's full thoughts:

 “Personally, it was a difficult choice! Being involved in the process, I really liked both designs. However, there was just something about the vintage look that really resonated with me. It was funky, it was cool, it was kind of weird – pretty much everything that makes the Kangaroo, the Kangaroo! So, vintage had my vote.”

Taylor also noted that the decision to let the public choose the ride’s new look did have some precedent:

“We had a ton of fun earlier in the year giving our social followers the opportunity to pick the Phantom’s new paint color, so we kind of applied what we learned then to the Kangaroo’s reveal."

Director of Communications Nick Paradise announces the Kangaroo's return, along with the public vote to pick the ride's new look, to Celina Pompeani Mathison on Pittsburgh Today Live on November 19, 2021.

Can't Stop the Hop

Hampton Creative Creative Director Nate Olsen and Marketing Director Chris Ensor had TONS of cool insights about their role with the Kangaroo project! One element of the Kangaroo’s return that didn’t make it into the video was the ride’s tagline: Can’t Stop the Hop. Chris shared some thoughts:

 “Nate’s job, and his team, they really teed it up for us. They started with the visual side, and our job was to come in and develop a tagline – something that would be sticky, something that would be memorable, something that would resonate with Guests.

Our process is: we’re going to throw a lot at the board and see what sticks. We ended up with Can’t Stop the Hop – and that came in at the last hour, really. It was something we felt was appropriate for this ride, and the fact that this is the last of its kind. It was kind of this resilience that speaks to the park.”

"You Can't Tell a Story That You Don't Know"

Chris spoke a little in the video about his connection to Kennywood – with his mother growing up in McKeesport – but Nate was a little less familiar with Kennywood at first. After spending some time both at Kennywood and in the city, he quickly realized what a special place Kennywood is. From Nate:

 "[Of] all the different [amusement] parks I’ve worked on in my career, I would say Kennywood is one of those parks that you cannot really separate from the city in which it lives. They’re really just one in the same.

You can’t tell a story that you don’t know, and the only way you’re going to know it is if you spend time, and you listen, and you pay attention… that’s really our job first and foremost."

We asked Nate the same question we asked Taylor: was vintage the right choice?

“As designers, we get asked this stuff all the time. When we design, we don’t show anybody anything we wouldn’t be excited about picking… My opinion? I think [vintage won] because it had a lot more personality; it was a lot more playful.”

Project Significance

We also asked Nate and Chris to talk about the larger significance of the project. Chris began:

 “This was a once in a lifetime project, and I think we saw that very early… for me, the next step is to continue the tradition and take that experience and share it with my boys, so we’re planning on coming up to Kennywood and riding Kangaroo.”

Nate continued:

“It’s all about seeing the Guests in line. You know, mom and dad in line holding their kid’s hand, and they’re sharing memories of when they rode it is a kid.

We actually sat in line on the Racer and rode behind a couple that had grown up in Pittsburgh, fell in love in Pittsburgh. Some of their first memories were in the park in Pittsburgh, and riding that particular ride – the Racer; just sitting behind them in line and hearing those stories, or standing in the different midways and hearing those stories, that gets you excited for stuff like this. And I know this one has as much history and nostalgia and people that are that hyped about it as well.”

To me, that’s it: it’s people. Watching people enjoy the ride and having those connections, those memories just continuing to happen for years to come – that’s the real reward.”

Chris offered some final thoughts:

“I think it’s about that next generation, right? Of the current park-goers, park Guests, then sharing that with their kids, and this story continues to roll on... and during the 125^th anniversary? You couldn’t write it any better.”